US Sanctions 2 Lebanese Ex-Ministers over Corruption, Enabling Hezbollah

Arab World

September 8th, 5:53pm

Asharq Al-Awsat

Lebanese former Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil. (Reuters)

The United States on Tuesday expanded its sanctions on Lebanon, blacklisting the former finance and transport ministers and accusing them of providing material and financial help to Iran-backed Hezbollah party, following a cataclysmic blast last month at Beirut port that left the country reeling. "Corruption has run rampant in Lebanon, and Hezbollah has exploited the political system to spread its malign influence," US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement, announcing the blacklisting of former Lebanese government ministers Youssef Finyanus and Ali Hassan Khalil, who also aide to parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. "The United States stands with the people of Lebanon in their calls for reform and will continue to use its authorities to target those who oppress and exploit them," he added. The move freezes any US assets of the two blacklisted and generally bars Americans from dealing with them. Those that engage in certain transactions with the former officials are also at risk of being hit with secondary sanctions, the Treasury said. Fifteen years after the assassination of Lebanon's Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, Hezbollah has risen to become the overarching power in a country that is now collapsing under a series of devastating crises. The August 4 Beirut blast killed at least 190 people, injured 6,000 more, and destroyed large swaths of the Mediterranean city, compounding a deep financial crisis. Authorities said the blast was caused by about 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate that had been stacked in unsafe conditions in a port warehouse for years. The enraged public accuse the authorities of knowing about the stockpile for years and doing nothing to remove it from the densely populated area. Finyanus is the former minister of transportation and public works (2016-2020). As of mid-2019, Hezbollah used its relationship with officials in the Lebanese government, including Finyanus as minister of transportation and public works, to siphon funds from government budgets to ensure that Hezbollah-owned companies won bids for Lebanese government contracts worth millions of dollars. In 2015, Hezbollah gave Finyanus hundreds of thousands of dollars in exchange for political favors. Also in 2015, Finyanus met regularly with Wafiq Safa, whom the US Treasury designated in 2019 for his leadership role in Hezbollah’s security apparatus. Finyanus, who is loyal to Marada Movement leader Suleiman Franjieh, also helped Hezbollah gain access to sensitive legal documents related to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and served as a go-between for Hezbollah and political allies. The STL was set up to probe Hariri’s assassination in a massive bombing in Beirut not far from the port. In addition to his activities supporting Hezbollah, Finyanus engaged in corruption while in his position as minister of transportation and public works by diverting funds from the ministry to offer perks to bolster his political allies. Ali Hassan Khalil previously served as the minister of finance (2014-2020) and minister of public health (2011-2014). As Minister of Finance, Khalil was one of the officials Hezbollah leveraged a relationship with for financial gain. In late 2017, shortly before the Lebanese parliamentary elections that would take place in May 2018, Hezbollah leaders, fearing a weakening of their political alliance with Speaker Berri’s Amal Movement, reached an agreement with Khalil where he was prepared to receive Hezbollah support for his political success. Khalil worked to move money in a manner that would avoid US sanctions enforcement from government ministries to Hezbollah-associated institutions. Additionally, Khalil used his position as minister of finance to attempt to have US financial restrictions on Hezbollah eased so that the party would have less difficulty moving money. Khalil also used the power of his office to exempt a Hezbollah affiliate from paying most taxes on electronics imported to Lebanon, and a portion of what was paid was collected to support Hezbollah. As of late 2019, Khalil as finance minister refused to sign checks payable to government suppliers in an effort to solicit kickbacks. He demanded that a percentage of the contracts be paid to him directly.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2496166/us-sanctions-2-lebanese-ex-ministers-over-corruption-enabling-hezbollah